diff --git a/api/CourseInfo.d.ts b/api/CourseInfo.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f565923
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/CourseInfo.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+export interface CourseInfo {
+  id: string;
+  name: string;
+  units: string;
+  prerequisites: string;
+  corequisites: string;
+}
diff --git a/api/server.ts b/api/server.ts
index 02d620c..a8d67b1 100644
--- a/api/server.ts
+++ b/api/server.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ import {
   getProfNames,
   initializeMySQL,
   checkSQLConnection,
+  searchCourses,
+  getCourse,
 } from './sql';
 
 const app = express();
@@ -182,6 +184,55 @@ app.get('/vote', (req, res) => {
   return res.status(400).send(result);
 });
 
+// Unified endpoint for searching courses or listing all
+app.get('/courses', async (req, res) => {
+  let key: string | undefined;
+
+  // Check if req.query.key is a string and assign it to key
+  // If not, key remains undefined
+  if (typeof req.query.key === 'string') {
+    key = req.query.key;
+  } else if (!req.query.key) {
+    key = undefined;
+  } else {
+    // Handle the case where key is not a string.
+    // Returning an error response
+    return res
+      .status(400)
+      .send('Invalid query parameter: key must be a string');
+  }
+  try {
+    // If the key is empty, consider it as a request for all courses
+    if (!key) {
+      // Assuming searchCourses function can handle empty keys to return all courses
+      const results = await searchCourses();
+      return res.json(results);
+    }
+    // If key is provided, search for courses based on the key
+    const results = await searchCourses(key);
+
+    res.json(results);
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error(error);
+    res.status(500).send('An error occurred while fetching the courses');
+  }
+});
+
+// Endpoint for searching a course by an exact course number
+app.get('/courses/:courseNumber', async (req, res) => {
+  const { courseNumber } = req.params;
+  try {
+    const result = await getCourse(courseNumber);
+    if (!result) {
+      return res.status(404).send('Course not found');
+    }
+    res.json(result);
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error(error);
+    res.status(500).send('An error occurred while searching for the course');
+  }
+});
+
 app.listen(process.env.PORT ?? 3000);
 void initializeMySQL();
 
diff --git a/api/sql.ts b/api/sql.ts
index fc910ed..3736ec7 100644
--- a/api/sql.ts
+++ b/api/sql.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { Connection, createConnection } from 'mysql2';
 import { Professor, ProfessorUpdate } from './Professor';
 import { getProfessorByName, getAllProfessor } from '../scraper/scraper';
 import 'dotenv/config';
+import { CourseInfo } from './CourseInfo';
 
 let connection: Connection;
 
@@ -237,17 +238,70 @@ export async function getProfNames(): Promise<object[]> {
 /* --- Curriculum FUNCTIONS --- */
 
 /**
- * Adds a new course to the 'Curriculum' table with all the necessary course details as parameters.
- * @param courseName The name of the course
- * @param courseNumber The number of the course
- * @param preReqs The prerequisites of the course
- * @param coReqs The corequeuistes of the course
+ * Retrieves the total count of courses currently stored in the Curriculum table.
+ * @returns {Promise<number>} A promise that resolves to the number of courses.
+ */
+async function getCoursesCount(): Promise<number> {
+  const result = await execute(`SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Curriculum`);
+  const resultAmount = Object.values(result[0])[0] as number;
+  return resultAmount;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Fetches the latest courses from a specified URL and updates the local database.
+ * If the number of courses fetched matches the count in the database, the update is skipped.
+ * This function aims to prevent redundant updates on every process restart.
+ */
+async function fetchAndUpdateCourses(): Promise<void> {
+  const year = '2023-2024';
+  const url = `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blu3eee/cpp-courses/main/parsed/courses_${year}.json`;
+
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(url);
+    // Check if the request was successful
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      throw new Error(`Error fetching courses: ${response.statusText}`);
+    }
+
+    // Parse the JSON body of the response
+    const courses: Record<string, CourseInfo> = await response.json(); // Assuming this is an array of course objects
+    // Return if the courses amount is the same
+    // this logic can be further implemented,
+    // the current logic is just a temp guard to not check and create courses everytime the process restart on save (development env)
+    if (Object.values(courses).length === (await getCoursesCount())) {
+      return;
+    }
+    for (const course of Object.values(courses)) {
+      // Adapt based on your actual course object structure
+      // Assuming createCourse is a function you have for inserting course data into the database
+      await createCourse(
+        course.name,
+        course.id,
+        course.prerequisites,
+        course.corequisites,
+        course.units
+      );
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error fetching or updating courses:', error);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Inserts a new course into the Curriculum table.
+ * If the course already exists (determined by courseNumber), the insertion is skipped.
+ * @param {string} courseName - The name of the course.
+ * @param {string} courseNumber - The unique number of the course.
+ * @param {string} preReqs - The prerequisites of the course.
+ * @param {string} coReqs - The corequisites of the course.
+ * @param {string} units - The number of units the course is worth.
  */
 export async function createCourse(
   courseName: string,
   courseNumber: string,
   preReqs: string,
-  coReqs: string
+  coReqs: string,
+  units: string
 ): Promise<void> {
   try {
     // Check if course already exists in the database
@@ -258,19 +312,21 @@ export async function createCourse(
           courseName, 
           courseNumber, 
           preReqs, 
-          coReqs
-        ) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)`,
-        [courseName, courseNumber, preReqs, coReqs]
+          coReqs,
+          units
+        ) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)`,
+        [courseName, courseNumber, preReqs, coReqs, units]
       );
       console.log(
         `[SUCCESS] Course ${courseNumber} - ${courseName} has been added to the Curriculum.`
       );
     } else {
-      console.error(
-        `Course ${courseNumber} - ${courseName} already exists in the Curriculum.`
-      );
+      // console.error(
+      //   `Course ${courseNumber} - ${courseName} already exists in the Curriculum.`
+      // );
     }
   } catch (err) {
+    console.error(`Error inserting a course to table Curriculum`);
     console.error(err);
   }
 }
@@ -281,12 +337,14 @@ interface CurriculumCourse {
   courseNumber: string;
   preReqs: string;
   coReqs: string;
+  units: string;
 }
 
 /**
- * Updates an existing course by taking in the id of the target course, along with any course details that you intend to modify the target with.
- * @param courseId The id of the target course
- * @param updatedCourse An object containing the course details to be updated
+ * Updates the details of an existing course in the Curriculum table.
+ * If the course does not exist, an error is logged.
+ * @param {string} courseId - The ID of the course to update.
+ * @param {Partial<CurriculumCourse>} updatedCourse - An object containing the course details to be updated.
  */
 export async function updateCourse(
   courseId: string,
@@ -302,12 +360,14 @@ export async function updateCourse(
           courseNumber = ?,
           preReqs = ?,
           coReqs = ?,
+          units = ?
           WHERE id = ?`,
         [
           mergedCourse.courseName,
           mergedCourse.courseNumber,
           mergedCourse.preReqs,
           mergedCourse.coReqs,
+          mergedCourse.units, // Convert units to string
           courseId,
         ]
       );
@@ -369,6 +429,37 @@ export async function getCourseById(
   return result;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Searches the Curriculum for courses matching the given key phrase in either
+ * the course name or the course number.
+ * @param keyPhrase The phrase to search for.
+ * @returns A promise that resolves to an array of courses matching the search criteria.
+ */
+export async function searchCourses(keyPhrase?: string): Promise<any[]> {
+  // Escape the keyPhrase to prevent SQL injection
+  const escapedKeyPhrase = (keyPhrase ?? '')
+    .replace(/%/g, '\\%')
+    .replace(/_/g, '\\_');
+
+  // Use the LIKE operator with wildcard (%) for partial matches
+  // Concatenate both courseNumber and courseName with an OR for a broader search
+  const query = `
+    SELECT * FROM Curriculum
+    WHERE courseNumber LIKE ? OR courseName LIKE ?
+  `;
+
+  // Add wildcards to the search phrase for partial matching
+  const searchPattern = `%${escapedKeyPhrase}%`;
+
+  try {
+    const results = await execute(query, [searchPattern, searchPattern]);
+    return results;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error searching for courses:', error);
+    throw error; // Re-throw the error for further handling, if necessary
+  }
+}
+
 /* --- MySQL FUNCTIONS --- */
 
 /**
@@ -449,13 +540,16 @@ export async function initializeMySQL(): Promise<void> {
       legacyId int
     )
   `);
+  // uncomment the line below to create the new Curriculum table on your first run
+  // void execute(`DROP table Curriculum`);
   void execute(`
     CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS Curriculum (
       id int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
       courseName varchar(255),
       courseNumber varchar(255),
-      preReqs varchar(255),
-      coReqs varchar(255)
+      preReqs TEXT,
+      coReqs TEXT,
+      units varchar(255)
     )
   `);
   void execute(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS professorDB (
@@ -484,6 +578,8 @@ export async function initializeMySQL(): Promise<void> {
     );
   }
 
+  await fetchAndUpdateCourses();
+
   console.log('MySQL server successfully started!');
 
   // const sampleProf: Professor = {
diff --git a/test/server.test.ts b/test/server.test.ts
index 821d45d..b4ec8c1 100644
--- a/test/server.test.ts
+++ b/test/server.test.ts
@@ -54,37 +54,44 @@ describe('[Professor] 3 test cases:', function () {
   });
 });
 
-describe('[Search] 3 test cases', function () {
-  it('Empty array', async function () {
-    const nameSend = {};
-    const res = await request(server).post('/search').send(nameSend);
+describe('[Courses] 4 tests cases', function () {
+  // Test fetching all courses
+  it('GET /courses should return all courses', async function () {
+    const res = await request(server).get('/courses');
+    expect(res).to.have.status(200);
+    expect(res.body).to.be.an('array');
+  });
 
-    expect(res.body)
-      .to.be.an('object')
-      .that.includes({ err: 'please provide a json with key of count' });
+  // Test filtering courses with a specific key
+  it('GET /courses?key=computer should filter courses based on the key', async function () {
+    const key = 'computer'; // Use an actual key that you expect to filter by
+    const res = await request(server).get(`/courses?key=${key}`);
+    expect(res).to.have.status(200);
+    expect(res.body).to.be.an('array');
   });
-  it('No count property', async function () {
-    const nameSend = {
-      test: 'val',
-    };
-    const res = await request(server).post('/search').send(nameSend);
-    expect(res.body)
-      .to.be.an('object')
-      .that.includes({ err: 'must specify the amount of professors needed' }) ||
-      expect(res.body)
-        .to.be.an('object')
-        .that.includes({ err: 'please specify a number' });
+
+  // Test fetching a course by its number
+  it('GET /courses/:courseNumber should return the course with the specific number', async function () {
+    const courseNumber = 'CS 1300'; // Use an actual course number from your database
+    const res = await request(server).get(`/courses/${courseNumber}`);
+    expect(res).to.have.status(200);
+    expect(res.body).to.be.an('object');
+    expect(res.body).to.include.keys([
+      'id',
+      'courseName',
+      'courseNumber',
+      'units',
+      'preReqs',
+      'coReqs',
+    ]);
+    // Assert more specific properties of the course, such as matching the course number
+    expect(res.body.courseNumber).to.equal(courseNumber);
   });
-  it('correct ', async function () {
-    const nameSend = {
-      count: 1,
-    };
-    const res = await request(server).post('/search').send(nameSend);
-    const keys = ['profs'];
-    expect(res.body).to.be.an('object').to.have.all.keys(keys);
-    expect(res.body.profs).to.be.a('array');
-    res.body.profs.forEach((element: any) => {
-      expect(element).to.be.a('number');
-    });
+
+  // Test fetching a course with an invalid course number
+  it('GET /courses/:courseNumber with an invalid number should return 404', async function () {
+    const invalidCourseNumber = 'INVALID123';
+    const res = await request(server).get(`/courses/${invalidCourseNumber}`);
+    expect(res).to.have.status(404);
   });
 });